Graphic novels yet to catch a market in India

Unlike their steep rise in the West, the graphic novels in India are yet to catch the imagination of readers and it will take some more time before they set the cash registers ringing, say major publishers here.

Orijit Sen's ''River of Stories'' is regarded as India's first graphic novel that came out wayback in 1994, but this genere has seen increased activity in last six years.

''Kari'' by Amruta Patil, ''The Barn Owl's Wondrous Capers'' and ''Corridor'' by Sarnath Banerjee, 'Kashmir Pending' by Naseer Ahmed and 'The Hotel at the End of the World' by Parismita Singh have made graphic novels to the forefront.

Many readers sometimes confuse between graphic novels and comics as both of them use graphics and speech bubbles.

"It is not something that is meant to make you laugh or scare, it is meant to tell you a story with a difference," says Lipika Bhushan, marketing head, HarperCollins Publishers India.

"We try to stretch the boundaries of traditional comic book fiction. Each story has a strong social significance. These are stories about us, in our world, surrounded by situations and circumstances that we can identify with," says Suhas Sundar. He and his friend, Shreyas Srinivas, started India's first serial graphic novel, ''Jump''.

According to Orijit Sen, graphic novels also deal with serious issues and are aimed at slightly matured readers than those reading comics. They are a self-contained story rather than an ongoing serial.

Recalling the market situation when he wrote '' River of Stories'', Sen says,"graphic novels were quite unknown than.

It was also difficult to convince publishers for it. But things have changed now and publishers are keen to experiment."

Sen says help from some NGOs and his savings helped his novel to see the daylight. Publishing market has undergone a sea change since than and graphic novels are appealing to readers, specially the youngsters.

"Pure text is losing out to graphic novels. Readers like the visual imagination between words and illustration in a graphic novel. Graphic novels have got acceptance from the younger generation," says Bhushan.